Lying-in
European postpartum confinement with bed rest and female care.
Lying-in refers to the European tradition of postpartum confinement, involving extended bed rest before and after childbirth. This practice, once common in the Western world, has been viewed as old-fashioned with the rise of productivism, but it remains essential in other regions even without medical complications.
- field
- Postpartum care and social customs
- known_for
- Traditional postpartum confinement involving bed rest, female care, and churching of women
- associated_practices
- Caudle drink, desco da parto trays, monthly nurse
Lore & Background
A 1932 publication describes lying-in as lasting from two weeks to two months, advising against getting up for at least nine days and ideally 20 days. Care was provided by female relatives or, for those who could afford it, a temporary worker called the monthly nurse. The period ended with the churching of women, a Christian ceremony reintroducing the mother to the community. Until the 1970s, standard NHS postpartum care involved 10 days in hospital, with newborns taken to the nursery overnight to ensure mothers rested.
Reader's Guide
Lying-in was historically significant as a structured period of rest and social support for new mothers, embedded in European culture through customs like the caudle drink—a hot beverage associated with postpartum visits—and the desco da parto, a painted tray given to mothers in Renaissance Florence. The practice influenced maternity hospital names, such as the General Lying-In Hospital in London. Though now seen as archaic in productivist societies, lying-in remains vital elsewhere, reflecting enduring values of maternal recovery and community integration. Its legacy persists in modern equivalents like baby showers and push presents.
Did You Know?
- A 1932 publication recommended not getting up for at least nine days and ideally 20 days after birth.
- The term 'lying-in' was used in names of maternity hospitals, such as the General Lying-In Hospital in London.
- Until the 1970s, standard NHS postpartum care involved 10 days in hospital with newborns in the nursery overnight.
- The desco da parto was a painted tray presented to mothers in Renaissance Florence during lying-in.
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